Hail, Caesar! My Mom’s Movie Review.

A NOTE FROM THE EDITORS HERE AT STANDARDKINK: Sometimes my mother emails me her thoughts on recent movies and sometimes I post them here without telling her I am going to.

Recently she went and saw Hail, Caesar!, which I have not seen yet. I have read several professional reviews, but I honestly think this one is the best I’ve come across:

I had thought that, since this movie has George Clooney and the Coen Bros, it would be a clever comedy. Actually, it was neither!

Sure, there were some funny (stupid) gags and George Clooney was in it, but it was much more Josh Brolin's movie. Wayne Knight was a wonderful villain,  which he does so well. But, he was only in it about 5 minutes. Channing Tatum is surely a rival for Gene Kelly in the tap- dancing category. He was really good. But, once again, for only about five minutes. The cowboy star was good, but he should have had a much bigger part. Josh Brolin was very believable as the studio boss, but his constant praying was uncomfortable. Scarlett Johansson might as well not even been there. Frances McDormand was funny, but once again, was only on screen about 3 minutes. Oh, Josh Brolin's secretary was well played.

All in all, there was basically no story - except George's kidnapping- and the talent of all these actors was just wasted. I would see it again if it was free!

Otherwise, when it was over, you Dad and I looked at each other and said, WTF?

How awesome is my mother, BTW?

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Quick Movie Review: Paul.

Below please find my Mother’s review of the movie “Paul”.

***

Okay, here's my review of the movie, "Paul":

First of all, there is probably only about a 10% resemblance to our Paul- lots of "Abraham Lincoln"ing going on. It was pretty funny, in that Seth Rogan sort of way. Your Dad thought it was really funny. Of course, he thinks Jerry Lewis is funny. It was very strange seeing Jason Bateman be the bad guy. It also begins and ends at Comic Con, so that was kind of cool. Your Dad wants to know if those Princess Leia impersonators are there every year! It also borrows (intentionally, I suppose) from several previous movies - the place they are taking "Paul" turns out to be the mountain in "Close Encounters" and some of the time he was held prisoner in the warehouse from "Raiders of the Lost Ark". Anyway, we paid $6.75. It was worth that. Would I see it again? Probably not if I had to pay.

Onward to "Rango" ;-)

***

"Abraham Lincoln"ing means swearing, BTW.

How awesome is my Mother?

Thanks Mom!


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Quick Flick: The Social Network.

Shakespeare was mysteriously silent on the subject of social networking websites and so Aaron Sorkin had to step up. If Sorkin rewrote the phone book, I would go right now and buy my advance ticket, so I’m clearly biased, but it was a good movie and David Fincher is going to win Best Director (I already have money down on it).

What it is, is perfectly crafted. Just perfectly formed. These are talented and creative people at the top of their game. Somehow they make writing code seem interesting and legal depositions positively riveting. It is thoughtful and funny and grown-up and just good.

What it is not, is a movie that will change your life. I don’t know if you were expecting it to, but it won’t.


Myself, I'm hoping that this is just the first of many collaborations between Sorkin and Fincher on films about websites. Imagine the cinematic potential of Wikipedia, Weather.com and – of course – Youporn.


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